A Thousand Ways to be Found Again
by ckelly1801
Summary: In which the 11th Doctor and Clara go accidentally arrive in the tiny town of Black Eagle, Montana, where everything is not as it seems. T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

It was a quiet day in the tiny town of Black Eagle, Montana. Well, every day really was quiet. The sun rose and fell on each and every indifferent day. The morning light came, casting shadows where the trees blocked the sun's path, and the fat old rooster crowed his screechy song. Midday came without any real hassle; the horses were fed, along with all the livestock, and the cats did their feline things, while the dogs went to do doggy thing. The people went with the routine, going to their day jobs and lounging the horses that weren't out to pasture.

Until the blue wooden police box showed up.

Of course, the 930 residents of Black Eagle thought it was a prank, and the box was towed away to the local junkyard. Well, before the box disappeared and somehow ended up just as it started; in the middle of town, right next to Borrie's. That's about the time that the rumors started. "The blue box downtown? I heard it was a spaceship. I dunno, that's what people have been saying," some of the younger citizens said.

A spaceship? What a ridiculous idea.

"Clara? Where are you?!" yelled a tall, dapperly dressed man with a breaking wave of dark brown hair. He was in a control room of sorts; the walls were coated in silver, and the top of the blue pillar was spinning around rapidly. The centerpiece had a thousand different buttons and devices attached to it.

The man sighed, once again yelling, "Clara!" He brushed the flop of hair out of his eyes, resting both hands against the pillar.

"Here! Sorry, Doctor. The TARDIS wouldn't let me open the door to my room. What do you think?" said a petite, brunette girl behind him. Once he turned, she spun around in a high to low red dress. The Doctor bit his lip nervously, not sure what to reply, before saying, "Perfect. Are you ready to go to the best restaurant in the whole universe? Even the Sycorax give it a 6 out of 5 star rating. That's saying something, Clara." He smiled, giving her his arm, and trotted down to the TARDIS door, before something happened that even he had no explanation for.

The whole machine started to rock from side to side, making the whirring noise of the TARDIS travelling through the time vortex. Everything started to rapidly shift, and the windows of the TARDIS door shattered. The room was filled with red reflections and a voice that said, "DANGER. DANGER. SHIELDS EXHAUSTED. DANGER." Finally, everything stopped moving, and the two friends lay on the floor, side by side. Clara sat up with a shocked look on her face, before shakily saying, "Doctor?"

"Doctor, what was that? Where are we?"

The Doctor quickly jumped to his feet, sending a wave of nausea through his stomach. "I'm not sure, Clara. I think… I think the TARDIS ran into something in the time vortex. But what? What could live in the time vortex? It's just not possible!," he exclaimed, running his hand through his hair and pulling out his sonic screwdriver simultaneously. He stroked the console of the TARDIS, murmuring words of comfort and smiling at the soft sound that the TARDIS replied with.

"Um.. Doctor? What's out of the doors?"

He spun around, running to her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "There's only one way to find out, Clara. Don't be scared; I'll protect you." He smiled at her, a gleeful, stupefied grin that transformed his weary face into one of a young boy.

"Are you ready?"

Clara looked at him for a second, before smiling a small half smile and saying, "As ready as ever."


	2. The Blue Circle

It was Sunday evening when the two walked out of the mysterious blue box. Fireflies danced lazily under the trees, and distant music could be heard from beyond the tree line. A group of teenage friends walked down the street, laughing at some joke.

Then, the box moved.

"Hey, guys, did you see that?" said the tallest one, a boy with black-rimmed glasses and messy brown hair.

"What are you talking about, Dave?" said the long-haired blonde girl. She was shorter with spunky neon clothing and a permanent smirk.

"I thought I saw the box move, Courtney. Ya know, THE box. Greg?"

"Hmm?" the youngest one was lost in thought, and hardly listening to the strange conversation of his friends. His shoulder-length black hair covered his face as he looked down at the rock that he was kicking.

"Ugh.. Nevermind." Dave sighed, walking a bit faster as they passed the blue police box.

"Hey, wait up, Dave," Courtney and Greg said at the same time. She glared at him for a second while he ran to Dave.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something that she couldn't believe.

"Oh my god," she breathed, and screamed, and her hearing dimmed.

The last thing that Courtney Rabel ever saw was a pulsing blue circle, and then… she was gone.

When they turned to look at what she had screamed at. Dave gasped, and the two friends ran over to where she had stood only a few seconds ago. All that was left were her black converse shoes and scuffle marks and a dreadful smell of something burning.

The Doctor burst open the doors of the TARDIS, holding Clara close to him. He stopped, frowned, and ran around the already-fixed box, before using his sonic to survey the area.

He licked his finger, held it up to the air, and licked it again.

While Clara made a face at that, he muttered, "Montana. A small town, not much of anything. The year… 1996? Why this year? Why now?" The Doctor ran around, looking at the few shops that were near him.

Clara watched him with a bemused half-smile on her face. Although her heart was still beating a mile a minute, she had calmed down enough from the suspense of opening the doors to be able to watch the Doctor race around the area. He was just too adorable, she thought. Her chin-boy.

The Doctor turned around, powerwalking back to Clara, and said, "We need to investigate. The time here is all messed up. When the TARDIS was forced to land her, it created a tiny rip in time in this very spot," he said, jumping up and down to emphasize. "There are very few things that could turn the TARDIS around from her course. Very few, very dangerous creatures. We have to-"

"We have to eat, Doctor. I'm half starved. You promised me dinner, remember," Clara said, putting her hand on the Doctor's.

"Well, yes, of course. We should probably ask someone in there if there's been any suspicious… Wait a minute," the Doctor said, fixing his eyes on the shadows. He could just faintly hear a couple of people crying. He took Clara by her arm, running to the noise, before he saw the two.

Greg was sitting, rocking back and forth while crying into his arms. Dave was sitting too, but was just staring ahead, murmuring her name over and over again. "Courtney, Courtney…"

The Doctor ran up to them, asking, "What happened here? Come on, what happened…" He trailed off when he saw the converse shoes and the scuffle marks. Taking out his sonic, he frowned, moving his jaw back and forth.

"No.. No, no, no. It can't be. I should have gotten rid of them when I had my chance," he growled under his breath. Clara was sitting next to Greg, attempting to ask him what had happened.

"Clara… Clara, we need to get out of here. Just for a moment. I need to see something."

"We can't leave now! We have to find someone to help these two. We have to…"

"Clara. The thing that killed their friend," the Doctor said, sympathetically looking at the two boys, "can be the most dangerous creature in the universe. They love hate. They think that hate is the definition of beauty.

"Clara, we are facing a Dalek. And we need to go to the TARDIS. Now."


End file.
